SFL - Acquisition of two 17,000 dwt chemical tankers in combination with 10 year charters

Press release from Ship Finance International Ltd. Mar 14 2008

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE:SFL) ("Ship Finance" or the "Company"), today announced that it has agreed to acquire two 17,000 dwt chemical tankers newbuildings based on a total purchase price of $60.2 million, or $30.1 million per vessel.

The vessels are expected to be delivered from the shipyard in March and August 2008, and will then commence a 10 year bareboat charter to Bryggen Shipping & Trading AS ("Bryggen" or the "Charterer"), a Norwegian-based privately owned chemical tanker company. The agreed bareboat charter rate will be $8,000 per vessel per day, and at the end of the charter period, Bryggen is granted a fixed price purchase option of $20 million per vessel.

Bryggen has sub-chartered the vessels for 10 years on a bareboat charter to Sinochem International (holding) Co. Ltd. ("Sinochem"), a leading China-based chemical logistics provider, listed in Shanghai.

The transaction will be financed with a 10-year senior loan facility of USD 49 mill. and an equity contribution of USD 11.2 mill. The interest rate has been swapped to fixed rate for the entire loan period and the average annual net cash contribution after estimated interest expense and debt repayment is estimated to approximately $1.4 mill.

This transaction is another verification of Ship Finance's strategy to diversify both the asset base and the customer portfolio with new profitable transactions. These vessels are the first chemical tankers in our portfolio, and we anticipate further growth opportunities in this segment.

About Ship Finance
Ship Finance is a major ship owning company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SFL). Including newbuildings and announced acquisitions/disposals, Ship Finance has a fleet consisting of 72 vessels, including 35 crude oil tankers (VLCC and Suezmax), 2 chemical tankers, 8 oil/bulk/ore vessels, 13 container vessels, 3 dry bulk carriers, 2 jack-up drilling rigs, 6 offshore supply vessels and 3 seismic vessels. The fleet is one of the largest in the world with a total cargo capacity of more than 11 million dwt. and most of the vessels are employed on long term charters.

More information can be found on the Company's website:
www.shipfinance.org